California Bill Ensures Texas Doesn’t Mess With Its Students

California State Senator Leland Yee authored a bill passed by the California legislature ensuring that the rewritten, conservative version of history put forth by the Texas board of education, doesn’t inflict itself on that state. (h/t Raw Story)

“My bill begins the process of ensuring that California students will not end up being taught with Texas standards,” State Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco), who authored and sponsored the legislation, told Raw Story in an interview. Texas standards had better not “creep into our textbooks,” he said.

The S.B. 1451 measure – approved on a bipartisan vote of 25-5 – requires California’s Board of Education to examine and report any discrepancies between the new Texas standards and California’s standards. “At that point,” Yee told Raw Story, “we will make it very, very clear that we won’t accept textbooks that minimize the contributions of minorities and propagate the close connection between church and state.”

California, like Texas, holds sway with textbook publishers because of the number of books they order. The new Texas curriculum diminishes the importance of Thomas Jefferson, emphasizes the country’s Christian heritage, minimizes the MacCarthy witch hunts of the ’50’s, and also downplays civil rights and slavery.

America “came into existence because the founding fathers wanted to flee the tyranny of the church over a government,” added Yee, who immigrated from China at age three. “That part of the pride and joy of living here – that you’re not dictated by religion.”

Yee is also notable for his efforts to get California State University Stanislaus to reveal big demands in its contractual agreement with Sarah Palin, resulting in racist, homophobic messages coming his way.

Yee’s legislation must now go to the California Assembly and, if it passes there, be signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.